In Spain, where he attended the third summit of the European Political Community (EPC) in Granada, Thursday October 5, Volodymyr Zelensky came to seek reassurance that the Twenty-Seven would not abandon him if Washington were to weaken. But the Ukrainian president could only note the concern of his European allies to see American support for kyiv falter. “Europe is following the political storm that is growing in America”, he said. This American crisis is “dangerous for Ukraine”, he confided. Before calling on the Twenty-Seven: “Thanks to Ukraine, your soldiers are not fighting Russia. We do not doubt the strength of NATO. But none of you want to know what it would be like if NATO had to defend any of you. We must win in Ukraine so that Putin cannot expand his aggression. »
Following bilateral meetings, Volodymyr Zelensky received from his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, the promise of support ” flawless (…) as long as it takes” or from Madrid that of new missile launchers. Berlin, for its part, has committed to delivering a new Patriot air defense system this winter.
But doubts are accumulating on the Old Continent regarding the financial support of the American ally for Ukraine, and Europeans fear finding themselves alone on the front line. “Everyone is watching the situation, obviously, with a lot of vigilance”, confirmed Emmanuel Macron on Thursday. On September 30, while Congress reached a budgetary agreement at the last minute in Washington to avoid a shutdown, i.e. a temporary closure of government activities, elected officials decided to eliminate a new tranche of aid of 6 billion euros which was to allow Kiev to receive new American weapons by the end of the year.
“A real concern in the East”
“I have confidence in America. They are strong people, with strong institutions and a strong democracy”, insisted Volodymyr Zelensky. In the same tone, Thursday, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, affirmed that Europeans were “confident that the United States will keep its promises. Today they are working on the calendar » to restore this aid. She hopes to know more by October 20, when she goes with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, to Washington for a United States-European Union (EU) summit.
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